From The Washington Post:
Hegseth impeachment effort begins in House, focused on Iran war
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) introduced articles of impeachment alleging that the defense secretary “abused” his powers and “knowingly executed and implemented unlawful orders.”
Massie has alleged that the war is unconstitutional because the Trump administration initiated the conflict without the approval of lawmakers and has since continued military action despite Congress demandingthat the Pentagon cease hostilities.
Reading the impeachment articles on the House floor, Massie said that Hegseth had “abused” his powers as defense secretary and had “knowingly executed and implemented unlawful orders” by carrying out strikes against Iran. The congressman said that Hegseth “will remain a threat to the constitution if allowed to remain in office.”
Hegseth was asked by a reporter Monday if he believes that he has enough Republican support in the House to defeat Massie’s impeachment effort. He brushed off the question, saying “We’re not worried about that.”
The narrow House GOP majority can only afford a small number of defections if all Democrats support the measure. House Democratic leadership has backed the impeachment effort.
Introducing the impeachment articles Monday will force a vote by Wednesday evening unless Republicans refer the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee for investigation or vote to table it altogether. If passed, the measure heads to the Senate, which will have to hold a trial or seek to dismiss the charges, though House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) could seek to delay sending it to the upper chamber until the new Congress enters office in January.
The measure would face long odds in the Republican-controlled Senate. Democrats will have sizable majorities in the House and the Senate when they take power in the new year.
The Trump administration has pushed Republicans to oppose the vote, distributing talking points this week that argue Hegseth’s role in leading the Iran war is not impeachable and could discourage future defense secretaries from carrying out presidential orders.
Speaking with reporters Monday, President Donald Trump defended Hegseth’s leadership at the Pentagon and the Iran war more broadly, though he acknowledged the politically unpopular spike in gas prices the conflict caused.
“What has Hegseth done? He won the war,” Trump said.
Massie is one of the most prominent anti-war Republicans and lost his primary earlier this year after Trump supported his opponent, whom Hegseth campaigned alongside in a departure from norms for a sitting defense secretary. In a social media video last week, Hegseth called Massie a “disgruntled, defeated congressman” and denounced the impeachment effort as a “sham.”
Republican lawmakers have grown increasingly critical of Hegseth in recent weeks, frustrations that have only intensified after the party lost both chambers of Congress in the midterms.
Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky), a staunch Trump ally, declined to back the defense secretary in an interview Friday with News Nation, asserting that Republicans have “no idea what the strategy is moving forward in Iran.”
Democrats, meanwhile, have indicated they will support the impeachment effort.
“The national nightmare that has been Pete Hegseth can end this week if the president doesn’t make the decision on his own to terminate him,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) told reporters Monday.
While the White House and Trump have publicly defended Hegseth, within the West Wing there remain questions of how strongly the new chief of staff, Stephen Miller, is willing to go to bat for Hegseth.
The departure of Miller’s predecessor, Susie Wiles, was seen as welcome news for the defense secretary — not just because she was one of Hegseth’s top detractors in the administration, but also because it fulfilled Trump’s need for a high-profile shake-up in the immediate aftermath of Republicans’ midterm trouncing, according to two people with knowledge of White House strategy. Like others interviewed for this report, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Before Tuesday’s election, Trump and his advisers had conversations about Hegseth potentially being the first to go, these people said. That involved Trump calling friends and allies to solicit their opinion on Hegseth and whether to keep him on. Trump’s increasing frustration with Wiles in the lead-up to the election, however, appears to have bought Hegseth time to continue to defend himself.
Miller and Hegseth are neighbors on the military base where both now live, and their families socialize together.
But within the White House, despite the rapport between Miller and Hegseth, the defense secretary’s impeachment and the corresponding hearings are seen as a foregone conclusion — and vociferously defending him will have limited effect on the outcome, some people around Trump say.
A person close to the president, who has spoken to Miller in recent days, said it’s not out of the question that Hegseth will, sooner than later, be “cut loose” by the White House instead of fiercely defended through the impeachment process.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two former Trump administration officials who remain in contact with the White House staff said there appears to be little appetite for spending significant political capital on a protracted defense of Hegseth. These people noted that the president, so far, has not publicly attacked the impeachment process and, rather, seems to be letting it play out.
Another former administration official said that Miller’s appointment to replace Wiles does not bode well for Hegseth. Miller, this person said, will need to focus on the president’s agenda for the remaining two years of his term, not defending personalities.
“Miller knows the Senate very well, and unlike Pete, he knows where the limits are,” this person added, citing the new chief of staff’s experience working on Capitol Hill for then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican. “He knows that they need to get stuff done, and as chief of staff, this isn’t the hill they want to die on.”
Theodoric Meyer, Michael Birnbaum and Mariana Alfaro contributed to this report.
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